M94 – I Spy a Croc Eye

by Bob Meincke

Objects in field: M 94, NGC 4736

Equipment: Askar 71F Flat-Field Refractor, ZWO ASI533MC Pro

Integration: 4h 45m

Messier 94 is a compact spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, known for its bright core and surrounding inner ring. In this dataset, that structure takes on a more familiar form—the glowing nucleus and layered dust lanes giving the impression of an eye peering back through the dark. This image was processed from publicly available master light frames acquired by Dominic Gareau under Bortle 5 skies in…